Field of the Invention
The present invention refers to an electronic interface associable with an electronic control unit for an automatic watering system for remote controlled management of the system.
For the maintenance of lawns, gardens, kitchen gardens and other cultivated spaces, the employment of automatic watering systems controlled by programmable electronic control units is already widespread.
In addition, systems for remote controlled management of automatic watering systems that allow to modify the control unit programming parameters by remote control through interfaces of communication with the control units, a modem or a computer are already known.
The need to manage watering systems from a distance is felt more and more, as it allows to reduce the costs for the personnel that must carry out the maintenance. The remote controlled management of watering systems allows to employ maintenance personnel in a purposeful way only when and where it becomes really necessary.
Major producers of automatic watering systems supply the necessary equipment for this kind of control both in terms of hardware and software. However, the remote controlled management systems that each producer of automatic watering systems places on the market are not flexible, in that for a certain type of control unit it is necessary to purchase the hardware (control unit and communication interface) and the management software from the same producer of the control unit. Remote controlled management systems that are flexible and that allow the remote controlled management of a generic control unit are not known.
All this is obviously disadvantageous for the users, that are bound to purchase the equipment from one single producer, and it also creates barriers to the entry of new firms on the market.